Panafrican News Agency

Tripoli hosts 3rd meeting of the Scientific Committee of the 5 + 5 training center

Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The third meeting of the Scientific Committee of the 5 + 5 Training Center for Humanitarian Demining, dedicated to the challenges of mines in urban areas, continued on Wednesday, the Ministry of Defense of the government of national accord (GNA) said.

The meeting, which began on Tuesday, was hosted by the Libyan Ministry of Defense, represented by the Department of Engineering, the Libyan Center for Mine Action and War Remnants and the Underwater Research Center of the navy, according to a statement released Wednesday on the website of the ministry.

Representatives of the scientific committees of the 5 + 5 initiative countries, namely Algeria, France, Italy, Libya, Morocco, Portugal, Spain and Tunisia, participated in the meeting via videoconference, while Malta and Mauritania could not participate, said the ministry.

Speaking at the meeting, Engineer Colonel Hicham Al-Jabo addressed the challenge facing demining teams in residential areas south of Tripoli due to explosives placed at random and by sophisticated camouflage methods.

PANA recalls that Haftar's forces buried mines and other explosive devices in areas on the southern outskirts of Tripoli during their withdrawal last May, causing deaths and injuries both among civilians and demining teams.

This situation has delayed the return of people displaced to their homes.

Colonel Al-Jabo praised the support from the United Nations Mission and friendly countries, stressing, however, that this support is "limited and insufficient, especially with regard to funding, technical advice and advanced technical equipment" .

-0- PANA BY/IS/KND/VAO 16Sept2020